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Follow my Brava and Fat Grafting Day by Day

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Comments

  • hopeful24
    hopeful24 Member Posts: 117
    edited July 2014

    I agree with Lily. I don't think storing fat is a good idea.

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    thanks lily. I did not know that. I am still learning as I go. You are a dr K patient?

    I can't wait for his book to arrive! 

    Dnice

  • Lily55
    Lily55 Member Posts: 1,748
    edited July 2014

    no I am not a Dr K patient and even if he was available I doubt I would choose him to be honest

  • PinkHeart
    PinkHeart Member Posts: 271
    edited July 2014

    I had a phone call last year with Dr Hartog's nurse who is also his wife. She is a bc survivor as well. Very nice.  They don't accept insurance which is so wrong not to accept for breast cancer patients since it is for medical purposes.  His practice main focus is cosmetic surgery. 

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    thanks pink heart ....I realize now there is a huge distinction between plastic surgeons and those who specialize in breast reconstruction. Seems like all things medical continue to become more specialized. I guess that's a good thing. I watched the video on utube of dr hartog and his wife.... Really sweet.....

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    hi Lilly55,  just curious to hear your thoughts about Dr K as he is still on my list of consults. He has great reviews from so many women. I would love to hear about your experience if you feel comfortable sharing. You can PM me so conversation is private.   Thanks, Dnice

  • Lily55
    Lily55 Member Posts: 1,748
    edited July 2014

    i dont have any personal experience with Dr K but everything I read and saw on his website seems geared to "sales" and profit making. I also think the BRAVA equipment is obscenely expensive and this combined with feedback  from others about how his frontline client service is erratic makes me not want to know more. I think he would be quite dictatorial and provably not the kind of surgeon right for me. I interviewed (yes i saw it as that) various plastic surgeons and thought for several weeks before choosing the one I have. 

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    Thanks for your honesty Lilly55. May I ask who your PS is and what considerations made you choose him/her? Also sounds like your FG is taking so well. Is something unique being done by your PS? ...best to you...Dnice

  • hopeful24
    hopeful24 Member Posts: 117
    edited July 2014

    I do have experience with Dr. K and what Lily says is basically true -- it's mostly about profit. I do not want to go into details (feel free to PM if you want them), but I had dealings with them before, during and after my two surgeries that I never imagined could happen at a doctor's office. 

    As soon as my original plastic surgeon (Dr. Michel Saint-Cyr at Mayo) was recovered from his accident, I was immediately back there. He did my September, January and March surgeries and I'll be back to him this September to finish up.

    Unless you have an unusual fat grafting that no one else will even try (and there are no other options), I would not recommend Dr. K. 

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    thanks hopeful. I am appreciative of all the thoughts and input. I will PM you. Dnice 

  • kareenie
    kareenie Member Posts: 97
    edited July 2014

    dnice please keep in mind that any surgeon will have at least one disgruntled patient. Be sure to speak to the satisfied patients as well.

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    Thanks Kareenie... I agree with you as I have read both good and bad about any doctor. I always think a good match goes beyond just skill and experience. Personalities also play a role... On the side of the patient as well as that of the surgeon. I am trying to be sooooo thorough before I take my next step.....

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    Kareenie, recognize you from fatgraftpatients.com. I hope you are doing well. My gosh you have had a long road. Xo Dnice

  • hopeful24
    hopeful24 Member Posts: 117
    edited July 2014

    I totally agree that each surgeon has disgruntled patients, but keep in mind that Fat Graft Patients is filled with only happy patients. Once I questioned some of the things Dr. K was doing, I didn't get any friendly answers :( 

    I would suggest talking to many people who went to different doctors, but Fat Graft Patients isn't the place to get honest opinions about Dr. K.  Search this forum and the internet, and you'll find I'm not the only one who didn't go back. 

  • alexandra-aaa
    alexandra-aaa Member Posts: 8
    edited July 2014

    I'm sorry hopeful, you are free to say what you wish about any of your surgeons, but do not misrepresent my forum. While you posted I continually asked you if you read many of the other ladies' stories, and from your comments it was clear you had not. Between the 60+ members who are Dr. Khouri's patients and the 50+ who are patients in varying numbers of the 12+ other surgeons in our data base, by no means is there a 100% satisfaction rate. Not even close. 

    Your statement, "...that Fat Graft Patients is filled with only happy patients...." is a blatant misrepresentation, and obviously an inflammatory statement. It simply is untrue. 

    You also state, "...Once I questioned some of the things Dr. K was doing, I didn't get any friendly answers..." I invite anyone who wishes to read your topic, and the many, many patient, caring, encouraging posts, filled with helpful information , well wishes, thoughts and prayers offered to you throughout your procedures. 

    You say, "...but Fat Graft Patients isn't the place to get honest opinions about Dr. K...."

    Your blatantly libelous statement that the "opinions" shared are dishonest (tho not sure how an opinion can be dishonest, since you know...everybody has one), is defamatory to both my forum's content, it's members, and my own character and integrity. I am reporting your post to BCO's moderator(s) and administrator. 

  • hopeful24
    hopeful24 Member Posts: 117
    edited July 2014

    I am very sorry Alexandra. As you know, I am no longer posting there for the very reasons I mentioned, but you are right, I should not be publicly be saying that about your forum. And, please realize, your forum is wonderful for those going through BRAVA, I just don't believe it's the place for someone considering it. I have never seen anyone say anything negative about BRAVA and Dr. K, yet doctors and patients all over the country are stopping it. Do the math. Check yourself with the doctors on the BRAVA site and you'll find fewer than ever involved.

    I respect that there are some women that are more than willing to undergo his "experimentation" in exchange for their only chance of breasts, but I will not sit by and watch women blindly walk into that office without knowing what they are getting into. My problems (and scars) have continued long after surgeries, from which I never have been able to even get reports!

    I will, however, not refer to your site again.

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    Please forgive me if I have upset anyone. I feel terrible.....I am just gathering as much information as I can before I make a decision about how to move forward. Everyone has been so kind and supportive on these sites. I am so sorry if I touched upon a sensitive issue.  I truly hope for the best for all of us. Xo Dnice

  • Lily55
    Lily55 Member Posts: 1,748
    edited July 2014

    Dnice you haven't upset anyone, but I think the message from this is that BRAVA is controversial, a huge commitment in time, money and emotional energy BUT for people like me it can help. My surgeon wants me to use it to stretch the skin especially as whole area is so tight. However I am not doing ten hours a day as I simply get too sore and inflamed.  He does not recommend it for everyone, and I would strongly recommend you see three or four plastic surgeons and weigh up their advice for YOU as everyone is different.

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    Thank you Lily55. I hope it goes so well for you. I am having my third consult tomorrow in Boston. Then, I have two in NYC in late August/early Sept.   I wish so much that I was beyond all of this. Varying opinions from Dr's just confuse me and I get discouraged....I don't want to lose my momentum Xo Dnice

  • hopeful24
    hopeful24 Member Posts: 117
    edited July 2014

    lily said it all, but note that it wasn't BRAVA  that I referred to as "experimentation." I didn't like it, but I think it has been a proven tool for some woman. 

  • alexandra-aaa
    alexandra-aaa Member Posts: 8
    edited July 2014

    "...yet doctors and patients all over the country are stopping it. Do the math. Check yourself with the doctors on the BRAVA site and you'll find fewer than ever involved..."

    I have seen posts here from time to time speak of doctors on "the BRAVA site". Is this what's being referenced - http://brava.com/buy_BAPNY.asp ? 

    If so, from my understanding those are the physicians who aquire BRAVA for patients who want to use it for slow, gradual breast growth thru sustained negative tension, with NO fat grafting. That's what BRAVA was originally developed for about 15 years ago. Years later is when Dr. Khouri had (in my opinion) the genius to realize how beneficial the device would be for fat grafting (creating space, new blood vessels, improved circulation, release of adhered scar tissue, etc.). 

    I had seen that particular page on BRAVA's site many years ago (early 2000's?), referenced by "Natural Breast Enhancement" enthusiasts, on BreastNexus.com, and then later discussed on my original forum, Alexandra-AAA.com, long before DrK had any BRAVA + AFT info online. Certainly before I had heard of it, and well before BRAVA.com included any reference to fat grafting. If someone has definitive info on whether that list of doctors is now actually a list of fat grafting surgeons (which I did not see stated on that page), please let me know.

    I would also like to comment on something else that I've seen discussed here, as well as mentioned on FGP. Several ladies have tried to acquire names of surgeons who have trained with Dr. Khouri, and were displeased that they were not given this information from him or his office. I cannot imagine that sharing surgeons' attendance at the workshops, conferences, or any other type of training (if there is any) that DrK might offer, would not a breach of the privacy of the surgeon(s) who attended. Also, I cannot see how the qualifications or expertise of a surgeon who did attend, could possibly be assessed by the instructing surgeon. Could you imagine the subsequent liability??! The best analogy I can make would be if I needed an attorney and expected a Harvard professor to provide a list of his students. Then surmising that once the attorney complete that particular course, he/she would somehow be qualified to represent me. And the onus of that assessment falling on the Harvard professor. 

    Alexandra 

    PS

    Dnice, you did nothing wrong! It's great to "meet" you here and on FGP. Tho, I apologize for my very, very extended absence. I'm afraid to say out loud that I'm hoping to be back in a day or two, because every time I have over the last two months, all unholy hell breaks out for me and my family. I am still hoping tho... 

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2014

    Alexandra,  it has been a godsend to meet you and the other patients on these sites. I am better for it. Know that your hard work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I am wishing good health for you and your family....all the best...and no worries about absences!!! Xo.Dnice

  • GointoCarolina
    GointoCarolina Member Posts: 95
    edited August 2014

    I am very confused.What do you mean

    "any other type of training (if there is any)"  ?????I thought Dr.Khouri provided hands on training.Sharing doctors who have taken the training with patients who cannot make multiple trips to Florida would in no way jeopardize Dr.Khouri.I have been given referrals to doctors who were not up to par and there were no liability issues.A breach of confidentiality? All that would take would be for doctors taking his course to sign a waiver saying their names could be given to patients......and I was given one name..Dr.Ahn...when there were at least  two other doctors close to me who also had taken the training..one of which actually had worked with Dr.Khouri on the clinical trials.....I was so very very lucky to meet with a doctor who had taken the fat grafting training who was up front and honest with me about how many surgeries it would take and what results I could expect....If Dr.Khouri was the saint that many of you make him out to be,he would not be charging an exorbitant out of pocket price for the Brava to breast cancer patients..and he would provide doctors with one to have in their offices for patients to at least see.That may have changed,but the doctor I saw was very apologetic that he did not have a Brava for me to check out.As far as Dr.Khouri being a genius and seeing that the Brava would be good for breast recon......he was a genius at thinking of a way to sell a machine that had proven pretty much worthless as far as breast augmentation.What scared me the most was that it was clearly stated that the Brava should not be used on patients with breast cancer or a history of breast cancer....and for him to charge patients in his clinical trials for the Brava is obscene.But he is not alone,any doctor offering breast reconstruction of any type who does not accept insurance is in my books a gold digger..and even worse are the ones who say they will work out a deal with insurance and then balance bill the patient for what insurance does not cover.I am so sick and tired of those who make money off breast cancer.There is no one type of breast reconstruction that is perfect for everyone..for some fat grafting is the answer and I am thrilled for you..for others,implants work and I am thrilled for them too....others choose flaps with great outcomes,and again,I am thrilled.But we need to know the honest pros and cons of each procedure.I have learned more from those who have shared problems than the ones who have sailed through.I am sorry for this rant but sometimes I just  have to speak my mind.

  • PinkHeart
    PinkHeart Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2014

    Carolina,

    Well said

  • Lily55
    Lily55 Member Posts: 1,748
    edited August 2014

    i was not aware BRAVA is not recommended for breast cancer recon? 

  • GointoCarolina
    GointoCarolina Member Posts: 95
    edited August 2014

    It states on the Brava website that it should not be used by anyone who has had an abnormal mammogram...a history of radiation to the breast, a history of breast surgery or breast scars over 1 inch...I know in the past it also stated on websites of doctors offering it that it should not be used in cases of breast cancer.I do not know if this is the case now.I am sure they have to give such warnings due to the lack of testing.But there has to be a reason this is required.I myself do not believe that using the Brava would cause any remaining cancer cells to grow,but I am not a doctor or scientist.It was just scary to me personally to read this on the website.It was not one of my top reasons for deciding against this method of recon,but lack of testing was.To the women who have tried this and succeeded or failed,I give great credit.They are trail blazers,just like the ones who first had implants or flap surgery.I admire all of you and you are helping who knows how many other women?You are the ones who deserve respect and accolades.

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited August 2014

    Couldn't agree more!

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited August 2014

    Ok can anyone tell me the difference between fat transfer and micro fatgrafting? I keep forgetting to ask at consults. I am assuming micro uses smaller amounts at a time. Or are these terms being used interchangeably? Thanks 

  • Lily55
    Lily55 Member Posts: 1,748
    edited August 2014

    i think micro fat grafting is in filling around implants or for divots etc

  • Dnice
    Dnice Member Posts: 156
    edited August 2014

    Thanks Lily.  So fat transfer might  be larger quantities. Wish I was my own surgeon! Xo Dnice

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